The Strange Door (1951) ( Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Door )

The Strange Door (1951) (DVD) (*)

~~$27.99~~ $21.97

Original Title: Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Door
Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Italian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Italian ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Italy ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
78 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1951 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Joseph Pevney

Written By:
Robert Louis Stevenson
Jerry Sackheim

Actors:
Charles Laughton ..... Sire Alain de Maletroit
Boris Karloff ..... Voltan
Sally Forrest ..... Blanche de Maletroit
Richard Wyler ..... Denis de Beaulieu
William Cottrell ..... Corbeau
Alan Napier ..... Count Grassin
Morgan Farley ..... Renville
Paul Cavanagh ..... Edmond de Maletroit
Michael Pate ..... Talon

Synopsis:

Reunited for the first time since 1932's The Old Dark House, Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff star in the second-echelon Universal melodrama The Strange Door. Based on a Robert Louis Stevenson story, the film casts Laughton as unhinged French aristocrat Alan De Maletroit. Angered when his sweetheart jilts him in favor of his brother Edmond (Paul Cavanuagh), De Maletroit tosses Edmond in his castle dungeon, then years later forces Edmond's daughter Blanche (Sally Forrest) into a marriage of convenience with the seemingly worthless Dennis de Beaulieu (Richard Stapley). Imprisoned within the walls of the castle by the overbearing De Maletroit, Blanche and Dennis fall genuinely in love, then conspire with De Maletroit's long-suffering servant Voltan (Boris Karloff) to escape. But the villain's torture chamber is just large enough for the three would-be escapees ... While Strange Door permits Charles Laughton plenty of room to dole out ham in thick, juicy slices, poor Boris Karloff has nearly nothing to do, much to the disappointment of his fans.

Noble-born brawler and debaucher, Denis de Beaulieu (Richard Stapley), is selected by the scheming Sire Alain de Maletroit (Charles Laughton) to be forced into marrying his only niece Blanche de Maletroit (Sally Forrest). Whilst carousing at an inn, Denis is tricked into a fight with one of Maletroit's men and ends up shooting him dead. Whilst fleeing from the chasing mob, Denis takes refuge by entering a strange door at the Maletroit manor, but soon finds himself in the midst of a nightmare from which he cannot escape. Forced to marry a woman he does not love, due to Sire de Maletroit's determination to wreak revenge on his family line, his every move is watched by the creeping manservant Voltan (Boris Karloff). Desperate to escape, the young couple decides to leave the house through the only exit known to them...the torture chamber.

The wicked Alain, Sire de Maletroit (Laughton), plots elaborate revenge against his younger brother Edmund (Cavanagh). Twenty years previously, Alain's lover left him for Edmund and they ran away to marry; she died in childbirth. Alain imprisoned Edmund in the dungeon of the family manor, and convinced his young niece Blanche that her father was dead. When Blanche reaches adulthood, Alain plans to make her life miserable by marrying her off to a well-born cad, Denis de Beaulieu (Wyler). But Denis and Blanche fall in love and try to escape, leading to a deadly confrontation with Alain in his dungeon deathtrap.

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 28 May, 2021.